


Dreadnought Leviathan

by Rhine_Maiden



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: 1700's Pirates, Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Multi, not historically accurate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:34:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhine_Maiden/pseuds/Rhine_Maiden
Summary: The fabled Treasure of the Sands every pirate had heard of it but few believed it existed. Eve Polastri didn't believe the legend and having left the life of Pirating she had no intention of getting back in. A mysterious note and a chest from an old friend draw her back into the life she'd sworn to leave behind. Now to find a Captain crazy enough to sail with her on a hunt for a treasure that may or may not exist. Enter Captain Villanelle, a swashbuckling, blood-thirsty pirate with a past that would make even a seasoned pirate like Eve blush. Villanelle has little interest in the treasure and all her focus seems to land firmly on Eve herself.Can Eve survive the journey and find the fabled Treasure of the Sands? Or will she end up another victim of the treasure's siren call?Pirates A/U inspired roughly by Treasure Island, Black Sails, and Pirates of the Caribbean
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Niko Polastri, Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova, Konstantin Vasiliev & Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	1. Prologue: Port Royal Harbor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BeautifullyFlawed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifullyFlawed/gifts).



**Prologue: Port Royal Harbor April 15th 1700**

Niko laughed as his wife moved towards him. She had three wooden mugs in her hands and her hair was starting to fall from it’s loose updo. The red-coated soldiers were particularly rowdy tonight, bawdry tales of women and pirates flowing from their lips as they praised their Majesty King William III. Eve was smiling as the soldiers continued to eat and drink happily, getting steadily drunker as the night wore on. The band continued to play jovial tunes making the tavern much more lively than it had been before the soldiers were given shore leave to enjoy the night in Port Royal. It was a warm night as it was most nights in the Carribean making it a perfect night in the eyes of all present. The ale was cool and the music was flowing what more does one need? 

“Are they causing too much trouble yet?” He called as she brought the empty tankards towards him, settling them on the scuffed bar with a shake of her head. 

“No, they’re only having fun. Though if they break another chair I might break them.” 

“They haven’t tried to reach for you again have they?” 

“They remember the broken fingers from the last time I do believe.” Eve offered him a small shark-like grin and he laughed. His wife was a beautiful woman, anyone with eyes could see that. He had been drawn to her the moment he’d seen her. Eve was always careful though and even today her past still remained a mystery to him but that was alright. She was his wife and he loved her all the same. 

He took the tankards back to Gemma to wash in the large wooden barrel they kept just for that occasion and watched as Eve moved around the bar with a careless grace as she poured more ale from the wooden casks perched on the back bar. Other patrons wandered in and out as the night wore on and Niko was happy to note they were selling out quickly of food, certain ales, and the speciality of the Carribean Rum. Another successful night and all thanks to his wife’s suggestion that when Old man Will had wanted to sell the bar to retire peacefully with his daughter on her farm closer to the center of the island they be the ones to buy it. It had been a success even back then but with his wife at the helm, the numbers had steadily grown. She was a saavy businesswoman and capable of much more than he thought even she realized. She kept the tavern up and running with what appeared to be no effort, always managing to haggle for a better deal and never willing to back down when someone balked at a woman doing the work of a man. Niko didn’t see the problem personally. Eve was whip-smart and more capable than he was by leaps and bounds. She was fearless and never backed down from a fight, which he knew he would if she hadn’t stepped in to be his backbone. He was soft where she was hard and perhaps that was why they worked so well. 

The night was winding down steadily when a haggard looking man appeared. He was thin and his cloak was old, moth riddled from the looks of it. He had a haunted face and refused to look at anyone even Gemma who was by far the sweetest barmaid they had. 

“I must speak with Eve Jennings. Is she here?” He asked as Gemma carefully made her way over to him. 

Gemma looked to Niko and motioned for him to approach them. Though he was across the room he could see the gaunt face and the way the man was heavily favoring his left side. 

“What’s wrong Gemma?” He asked carefully pulling her away from the man to stand behind him. 

She pressed his lips close to his ear in order to be heard. “He wants to speak with Eve?” 

Niko looked over his shoulder before his eyes fell back on the man in front of him. “Why do you need to speak with my wife?” 

“Your wife?” The man blinked looking at him with a strange look on his face. He was blind in one eye, Niko realized with a chill. The milky white of his eye staring back at him was unnerving to say the least. 

“Yes, I’m her husband Niko Polastri.” 

“Niko Polastri…” The man repeated his name before he nodded. “You’ll bring her to me?” He would’ve been handsome if he weren’t so gaunt and frail looking. He wondered how they’d known each other and then thought the better of asking. He and Eve worked because he never asked her any questions. 

“Alistair?” Eve’s voice was soft but still could be heard over the rowdy atmosphere. 

“Eve? It’s you.” His rattling breath could be heard even over the loud music and calls of the soldiers for more ale. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked moving towards his seated figure. She looked at Niko and Gemma for a moment. “The soldiers need more ale Gemma.” 

“Right, of course I’ll just go and get that.” It was obvious the girl wanted to stay but with a cool look from Eve she’d scurried away with several worried glances back towards Niko. 

“Eve,” Niko reached out, touching her upper arm which caused her to flinch. He frowned, she’d never had that reaction before to his touch. Why now? Was it this man Alistair? 

“Go back to the bar. I’ll handle this.” She promised. He frowned but after a moment’s hesitation he did as he was told. That didn’t stop him from standing close to the bar and watching very closely though. 

Eve waited until he was gone to sit down on the rough bench seat across the dented wooden table from the figure. The oil lamps were brightly lit and provided far more light than what was outside under the moon but still the man’s features remained half hidden by his cloak. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Looking for you. Bill sent me.” 

“Bill Pargrave?” 

“One in the same.” 

“He’s dead?” Eve asked already knowing the answer. Bill wouldn’t risk her life if it wasn’t something important and nothing could trump that but his death. 

“Buried at sea just like he wanted.”   
“Good. He deserved that much.” She studied the man in front of her. “You have seen better days old friend.” 

“I have, but this will be the end for me. Once I’ve delivered this to you I can die in peace.” 

“Bill charged you with this?” 

“He knew you were the only one capable of finding it.”   
“Finding what?” 

“The treasure of the sands.” 

“That’s a myth.” She denied immediately with a small shake of her head. “Bill and I used to joke about it all the time. It doesn’t exist and if it did it’s long since been buried with the ones who knew where to find it.” 

“It’s not a myth and it does exist. Bill gave his life trying to find it and he was onto something. Something big before he was killed.” Alistair denied holding out a small metal chest. Eve frowned at the sight. She’d taken one similar when she’d fled Carolyn’s crew years ago. Last she’d heard Carolyn had escaped death by pleading her belly to avoid the noose. That had been almost twenty years ago and she wasn’t as young or naive as she had once been nor did she believe for a moment that Bill had found a hint at the famed treasure of the sands. 

“And he wanted me to have it?” 

“You two were always close.” He pointed out. “He thought of you like the daughter he’d never had.” 

“He saved my life more than once.” 

“And you his.” 

Eve dipped her head and chewed on her lower lip as she studied Alistair’s ragged figure. 

“Who else knows about this?” 

“No one; Bill had a lot of enemies and so do I.” She tilted her head, she was aware with the life they’d led that nowhere was truly safe. She’d gotten lucky when she’d met Niko. Kind, sweet, loving man that he was. He asked no questions of her and allowed her secrets because he did truly seem to love her. Her own feelings were more muddled. He was safety and protection. His last name unknown compared to hers. She wasn’t a Captain like Carolyn but she was still well-known in certain parts of the Carribean. The Spanish Warship Urca de Lima had sailed into a hurricane to avoid being hit by her crew. They had later held up some of the explorers and gotten enough gold and silver to make an escape. Bill and Eve had gone their separate ways then and neither had been seen by the other since that day on the beach. It was that money that had provided enough for her and Niko to buy the tavern and allowed Eve to bury the rest of the treasure in a location only she was aware of. Typical Pirate she’d thought. Burying treasure for later use. 

A wrinkled hand held out a small folded piece of parchment. It was well worn and obviously had been handled quite a bit. She eyed him and he frowned. “I had to know what it said so I could convince you to take it.” 

Eve rolled her eyes but took the paper and laid it out on the table. 

_My Dear Eve,_

_I hope this finds you alive and well. It seems you’ve all but managed to avoid trouble over the years, which I’m glad for. I’ve never had your luck and though as I write this I’m certain the end is coming; I still find myself longing for the bright days we spent on the ship. You were always my partner in all things. I never had a family and you were the closest I ever got to that. I hope you haven't answered the siren call of the sea the way I have so many times over the years. I have enclosed a small chest and I ask you to open it with the full knowledge that you are the only one I’ve entrusted with this. Alistair has hopefully proven himself one last time and this note has been put in your capable hands. Enclosed is everything I hope you’ll need. Remember the key is a part of me I hoped never to part with._

_Bill_

“I don’t know what he meant by key but I hope you do.” 

“I do.” Eve frowned at his interest. He was still frail though and while she had hoped to never lift another cutlass or pistol she knew she could take him if she had to. She wasn’t as good a fighter as Carolyn with a cutlass but she was a decent shot with a pistol and this close up she could easily hit her target. “Where is it?” 

Alistair frowned at her; knowing what she was talking about but seemingly unwilling to part with it, before reaching into the bag that hung inside his cloak. It was mostly hidden from view and Eve found herself wishing she had at least a knife close by. There was one tucked behind the counter but she hadn’t thought to put it in her boot that night. It was careless and she wasn’t certain she wouldn’t pay for it. Alistair wasn’t as trustworthy as Bill. He’d always had his own motives and that was dangerous. Greedy as all pirates were and willing to do whatever it took to win, he was a force to be reckoned with when they’d sailed with him. Even now she could acknowledge that half dead he was still dangerous. 

“It’s yours.” He set a small metal chest on the table between them and Eve nodded. She recognized it as the match to the one she’d taken when she’d escaped all those years ago. Bill must’ve done the same, keeping the other for himself until he’d died and now passing it along to the one person he still cared for in the world. 

“Will you open it?” 

“Perhaps.” It was the most she’d offer. 

Alistair frowned. “He wanted you to have this.” 

“And now I do. Find yourself a way out of my tavern Alistair. Pirates aren’t generally welcomed by the soldiers of William III.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Eve looked up as Niko knocked on the wooden frame of their small house’s bedroom. She smiled from her place on the bed as he stood in the doorway looking at her with tenderness and a slight concern. 

“Eve, who was that man?”

Eve looked down at the small chest sitting in front of her crossed legs. She hesitated for a moment which made Niko frown. “Eve?” He asked again which caused her to flinch and look down. She ran her hand over the top of the little chest and sighed before she answered. 

“Someone I used to know.” 

“Someone from your past?” 

“Yes,” She was succinct in her answer. Straight-forward and to the point without ever revealing too much of herself. Just like always. Niko frowned and she could see the way he was gearing up, clearly planning how best to broach the subject she had always managed to avoid. 

“Not tonight.” She interrupted. “In the morning if you really must know.” 

“Eve, I’m your husband if you can’t talk to me who can you talk to?” 

She frowned at him and he moved closer. “I’ve never asked,” He continued. “I’ve never pushed and I think I deserve a little trust for that.” 

“I do trust you.” 

“Obviously not since you seem to think it’s best to keep this from me.” Niko sighed as he moved forward and settled on the corner of the bed. The bed while solid still creaking under his weight. The sheets were rumpled since neither ever bothered to make it up. He kept his back to her as he slowly removed his boots. “I always thought you’d tell me eventually. That you’d feel like you could let me know that side of you.” 

“Now isn’t the time…”   
“When is the time?” He interrupted, “When you’ve always had one foot out the door?”

“Niko,” She started and he frowned, dropping his shoulders. 

“I just want to know if you’ll still be here in the morning or not. Most days I wake up and wonder if today is the day you’ll leave.” 

“I haven’t left yet.” 

“But that doesn’t mean you won’t leave now.” He finished for her. “Give me some respect Eve. I like to think I know you pretty well at this point.” 

She looked over at the oil lamps. It was growing darker as dawn approached. They usually slept until later in the morning due to the late hours at the tavern. The merchant sailors would arrive on the tides and they would be able to restock and have another busy night. 

“You’re really going to keep me in the dark on this one?” 

“I don’t even know what this thing is. It’s not like I have the key.” She offered but that wasn’t true.

Even as she said the words, she knew they were a lie. She knew where the key was hidden. It was the small jewelry box on her bedside table. An ugly little thing now beaten and half water logged. She’d claimed it belonged to someone important to her when Niko had asked and he respected her privacy on it. The box had held a ring that Bill had kept but he’d given her the box telling her that it had belonged to his daughter that died several years prior. He had been hesitant to part with it but he’d given it to Eve the night they’d run from the ship and Carolyn. Said it contained something important and left it at that. The key was hidden within she was certain. She only needed to tear it apart to find it. 

She waited until Niko had settled and was fast asleep before she made her move. Grabbing both box and chest, she moved to settle outside on the rough front steps before she began to pull apart the box. It was practically splinters in the moonlight by the time she finished but she’d found it. Rusted and tiny it didn’t even glint in the light of the full moon as she brought it carefully into the lock on the chest. It clicked and pulled open in her hands and she coolly eyed the old piece of parchment inside. 

“No gold Bill?” She muttered. She was still a pirate at heart after all. She eyed the parchment before grabbing it and pulling it open. A map stared back at her and though it was light enough that she could make out the vague lines on the...was that some type of hide? This was old…hide hadn’t been used in several years. This was what Bill had died for? Trying to get this to her. 

She carefully locked the chest back up before taking the hide map inside. She’d look at it when it got light out. Niko would sleep for a while yet and that would give her the time she needed to formulate some type of plan. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Are you coming to town with me?” Niko asked with a small smile as Eve looked up from her place at their small front table. Books were scattered in front of her and her quill was scratching out numbers as she looked over the receipts from their suppliers. 

“Once I finish this, I’ll meet you there.” She promised though from the look on her husband’s face it hadn’t been as convincing as she’d hoped it would be. As soon as the sunlight had come through the storm shutters she’d gone outside and looked over the map. There was no doubt in her mind, it was a map to the treasure of the sands and Bill had died getting it to her. Someone was after this thing and whoever it was had almost killed Alistair before he got it to her. The best thing she could hope for was to get away, destroy the map and run away with Niko. Whoever wanted the map would come for it of that she had no doubt. And yet she was still a pirate and the allure of treasure was still there even after all these years. 

Niko would be safe if she left him here right? The fort was close and there were plenty of soldiers, he was safer here than anywhere else. Pirates were hung in Port Royal very quickly and who else but a pirate would be after this map? The questions had continued to pop into her mind and there didn’t appear to be an answer insight. She owed it to Bill to seek out the treasure didn’t she? He’d died to ensure she was the one who found it. But her life with Niko would forever be altered. Was she going to be able to live with that? He was a good man and she did care for him and though they’d fought last night she was still willing to say that he would never do anything to harm her. 

But he would be a liability out in the wilds of the ocean. He was too soft to fight and pirates were known to do whatever it took to win the fight, especially if they weren’t drunk enough to know it was always better to fight dirty to win. He could probably fire a pistol but he wouldn’t know how to operate rigging or how to plot out points on the old map. She needed others for that. She at least knew how to sail after all the years she’d spent at sea in her youth. She set the quill down and left the book open to allow the ink to dry. She had fixed it so that Niko would know exactly how to continue and if he had half a brain in his head he’d be capable of running the books and the tavern without her. 

She tapped her finger against her chin, biting her lip as she thought. She had two choices, stay and continue on as she had Niko’s wife and part tavern owner here in Port Royal. Or she could choose adventure as she had in her youth. She could follow in Bill’s footsteps and find the treasure of the sands. She may succeed or she may not but that wasn’t what this was truly about was it? Bill had always said the worthy part of any journey was how you got there. Of course he’d drank two bottles of rum when the words had tumbled out of his mouth and she’d been too drunk to tell him how full of shite he was. She shook her head with a small smile. Her boots would do fine on the boat. She could scuff the bottom up a bit to ensure she would have stable footing and wouldn’t slide down. Niko’s leather vest and his old hat would fit her fine. She still had a comfortable linen shirt and pants that would work underneath. Her gun belt was buried out back along with her cutlass easy to dig up and take with her along with some of the gold she’d had buried in the garden. The garden that Niko had so lovingly planted and she’d helped tend to. She’d miss the fresh vegetables and fruits they’d managed since Niko’s green thumb had thankfully outweighed her brown one. She was only glad Niko had never asked her for children. If she could kill a plant in the ground surely she’d fail horribly as a parent. Or at least that was her planned argument for why they should never consider reproducing. 

She shook her head pulling her hair back carefully with a leather thong. She’d tuck it up in her hat later for now just keeping it off her neck was the best idea. 

Dressing quickly and efficiently she made her way out to the garden carefully grabbing for the wooden shovel. She dug around in the general area she remembered until the shovel thunked against something made of metal. She grinned as she unearthed her cutlass. It had been a while since she’d seen the sword. It wasn’t terribly ostentatious but it did have a well worn grip and a few knicks in the blade she’d never quite been able to sharpen out. Then again back then she hadn’t had the patience to sit with a whetstone and work it the way Bill had with his. She dug around until the leather belt and the pistol came free. The pistol would have to be taken apart and cleaned thoroughly and there was still no guarantee that after all this time it would still fire. She might have to give it up for lost and get a new one. She’d worry about that once she reached Tortuga. Tortuga...many fond memories and many not so fond. She only hoped it hadn’t changed much in the time she’d been away and that she’d get lucky while she was there. Her next challenge sat upon her, finding Carolyn. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Author's Notes: This is a shorter one but I wanted to go ahead and get it out. I work insane hours so it's difficult to catch the time to write since my hours are very long and I do a lot of overtime. As always I appreciate the feedback and since I'm always looking to make friends in fandom please feel free to message me here or on Tumblr. My tumblr is <https://rhine-maiden-vi.tumblr.com/> . This is once again dedicated to my best friend Beautifully Flawed who without this wouldn't be created at all. Hopefully I will get motivation to keep working on the next chapter as things at work should be settled for a few weeks. 

**Author's Note:**

> Pirates A/U I've been wanting to write for a while. I live on the beach and what better way to celebrate than by a good old fashioned Pirates A/U? 
> 
> As always from an A/U of this nature you can expect graphic depictions of violence, blood, sex, and general mayhem. I will do my best to mark when this will come into play so that people know where to read carefully. 
> 
> I work crazy insane hours so I can't promise I can keep up with any kind of updating schedule but I will do my best. 
> 
> Also this hasn't been beta read but I'm trying my best to go back and edit it for grammar etc. I hope this won't make it too difficult to read as it is a little rough.
> 
> Dedicated to my best friend in the entire world BeautifullyFlawed.


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